Life insurance

The PEBB Program provides basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance at no cost to employees enrolled in the full benefits package. Additional optional life and AD&D insurance is available for purchase.

Who is eligible?

The PEBB Program provides life insurance to eligible members through MetLife. Eligible members include the following employees:

State agencies

Higher-education institutions

Community and technical colleges

Employees who work for a PEBB Program-participating school district, tribal government, or employer group that offers both PEBB Program medical and dental coverage.

If you work for a PEBB Program-participating school district, tribal government, or employer group, contact your personnel, payroll, or benefits office to see if this is part of your benefits package.

Basic life insurance (automatic, employer paid)

The PEBB Program's full employee benefits package includes basic life insurance at no cost to you. It provides:

$35,000 for death from any cause.

$5,000 in case of accidental death or dismemberment (AD&D).

As an employee, your basic life insurance covers you and pays your designated beneficiaries in the event of your death. AD&D insurance provides extra benefits for certain injuries or death resulting from a covered accident.

Optional life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance (self-pay)

In addition to purchasing optional life and AD&D insurance for yourself, you may also choose to purchase optional life and AD&D insurance for your eligible dependents.

Employees must enroll in optional life insurance to enroll their dependents in optional life insurance. Optional coverage is not available to retirees. They must port or convert.

Types of optional coverage

Employee (subscriber)

Spouse or state-registered domestic partner

Child(ren)
(14 days up to 26 years)

Optional life insurance

Increments of $10,000 up to $500,000 guaranteed issue*, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 with Medical Evidence of Insurability.

Increments of $5,000 up to $100,000 guaranteed issue*, up to a maximum of $500,000 with Medical Evidence of Insurability. Coverage cannot exceed 50% of employee's optional life insurance.

Increments of $5,000 up to $20,000

Optional AD&D insurance

Increments of $10,000 up to $250,000.
Optional AD&D insurance does not cover death and dismemberment from nonaccidental causes. Optional AD&D Insurance never requires evidence of insurability, and you can apply at any time.

Increments of $10,000 up to $250,000

Increments of $5,000 up to $25,000

*Guaranteed issue is the amount of coverage an employee may select when initially eligible for coverage, within the required deadlines below, without submitting a statement of health for carrier approval.

How long do I have to enroll?

Employees may apply for up to the guaranteed issue amounts of optional life insurance without submitting evidence of insurability to MetLife:

No later than 31 days after the date the employee becomes eligible for PEBB benefits.

No later than 60 days after the date of marriage or state domestic partnership registration.

No later than 60 days after the birth or adoption of a child, once the child is 14 days old.

Once you have enrolled one child in Child Dependent Life Insurance, each succeeding child will automatically be covered for the same amount on the date that child becomes eligible as defined in the Certificate of Coverage.

If you apply for or change your employee or spouse or state-registered domestic partner optional life insurance coverage amounts outside of the deadlines mentioned above, you must provide a statement of health to MetLife for approval, regardless of the coverage amount requested.

Requests submitted within the above deadlines for coverage over the guaranteed issue amount will require evidence of insurability only for the amount over the guaranteed issue. If the additional amount is denied, the employee or family member will be enrolled in the guaranteed issue amount.

To create an online account with MetLife

You should see "PEBB Benefits - State of Washington" in the Account Sign in box.

If you see "Enter your company name," start typing "PEBB" (without the quotes) into the field and a dropdown of options should appear. Select "PEBB Benefits - State of Washington."

Click the Submit button.
This will take you to a Welcome to MyBenefits screen that has Life Insurance and Tools & Resources boxes in the center of the screen and a First Time User? box on the right.

If you have visited this link before and completed steps 2 and 3, you will see the Welcome to MyBenefits screen that has Life Insurance and Tools & Resources boxes when you click the MetLife's MyBenefits portal link above.

In the First Time User? box on the right, click the Register Now! button.

Complete the registration form.

Click the Register button.

On the next screen, click the Continue button.
You will now see a personalized screen that reads "Your Name, PEBB Benefits - State of Washington" in the upper right and your registration is complete.

You will receive a thank you email from MetLife that includes a link back to the MyBenefits page. If you have questions about the MetLife website, please contact MetLife at 1-866-548-7139, Monday - Friday, 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time (except for the major holidays).

MetLife Advantages

Employees enrolled in life insurance through MetLife can take advantage of MetLife’s comprehensive suite of services including will preparation and estate planning services at no additional cost.

Will preparation

MetLife’s Will Preparation Service provides telephone and in-person access to a participating Hyatt Legal Plans attorney to prepare or update a will, living will, and powers of attorney.

For more information call 1-800-821-6400.

Estate resolution services

MetLife’s Estate Resolution ServicesSM (ERS) provides probate services to the representative (executor or administrator) of a deceased employee’s estate and the estate of the employee’s spouse or state-registered domestic partner. Examples of probate services covered under ERS include participating plan attorneys’ fees for phone and in-person consultations, preparation of documents, and representation at necessary court proceedings.

For more information call 1-800-821-6400.

Grief counseling and funeral planning services

Provides therapy to help people cope with grief and mourning following the death of a loved one, or with major life changes that trigger feelings of grief. Grief Counseling services are available to those dealing with events including divorce, the loss of a job, financial hardship, a terminal illness or serious medical condition, or the loss of a pet.

For more information call 1-855-609-9989.

Delivering the Promise

The Delivering the Promise program is designed to provide beneficiaries with the support and guidance they need during this difficult time. Beneficiaries receive one-on-one assistance when they need it most, including help with filing claims and government benefits, locating support resources and identifying any other important issues associated with the loss of a loved one.

For more information call 1-877-275-6387.

Travel assistance and identity theft solutions

For more information call:

Within the United States: 1-800-454-3679

Outside the United States: 1-312-935-3783

Willcenter.com

Self-service online legal document preparation. Visit Willcenter.com to register as a new user.

MetLife Infinity

Total control account

An option allowing immediate access to the life insurance fund without usage fees.

For more information call 1-800-638-7283.

If I leave employment, can I continue life insurance coverage?

If you are eligible for Portability or Conversion due to termination or other reasons, MetLife will send you information and an application. You may contact MetLife directly at 1-866-548-7139 with any questions.

Portability Provision

Under the Portability Provision of your PEBB employee life insurance, you can apply to continue your terminated employee basic life and optional life insurance until age 100 if certain conditions are met. You may elect to decrease your coverage continued under the Portability Provision, but you will not be able to increase it.

The minimum amount of your life insurance you can apply to continue under the Portability Provision is $10,000. The maximum amount will not exceed $1,000,000. The maximum without Evidence of Insurability is $500,000.

You may also apply to continue your terminated dependent basic life and your spouse or state-registered domestic partner life insurance at the same time you apply to continue your own life insurance. Dependent life insurance may be continued even if you choose not to continue your life insurance.

To continue life insurance under the Portability Provision, you must apply to MetLife no later than 60 days after the date your PEBB employee life insurance ends due to retirement, or no later than 60 days after the date you leave office if you are an elected or appointed official as described in WAC 182-12-180(1).

If you and your dependents are not eligible for coverage under the Portability Provision, you may still be eligible for the Conversion of Life Insurance Provision.

Conversion of Life Insurance Provision

Retiring employees and their dependents may be entitled to convert their life insurance to an individual policy without evidence of insurability.

The amount of the individual policy will be equal to (or at your option, less than) the amount of life insurance you or your insured dependents had on the termination date of the policy you are converting.

You must apply to continue your coverage under the Conversion of Life Insurance Provision. The conversion period is 31 days after the date your PEBB employee life insurance ends due to retirement. You will have a total of 60 days to apply for conversion coverage after your employee life insurance ends.

How do I cancel my optional life and/or AD&D insurance through MetLife?